More victims in Ontario and Alberta come forward in fake GIC website scam

Samantha Barnes said she was scammed out of more than $200,000 after she clicked on a fake website claiming to sell GICs on behalf of PC Financial.

More victims of an investment scam are coming forward after CTV News previously reported the story of an Oakville man who lost $750,000 to an investment fraud by clicking on a phony website.

Walter Yamka previously said he wanted to transfer money into a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) and after doing a Google search to find the best rates, he came across a website that appeared to be with PC Financial. He said he called the number listed on the site to inquire.

“I said, ‘I can come up with $750,000.’ And he said, ‘Oh, we can give you 6.5 per cent on a GIC,’” Yamka said.

Ater transferring the money out of his bank account, he said he discovered that the website was fake.

“When you’re dealing with that amount of money and transferring it out, the bank should confirm the receiver is legitimate” Yamka told CTV News.

Samantha Barnes from Airdrie, Alta, located north of Calgary, said she was the victim of the same scam and contacted CTV News after she heard about Yamka’s story.

“I’m devastated. I’m devastated that people can do this” Barnes said, adding that the bank simply told her “your money is gone.”

Barnes said she was also searching online for GIC rates and clicked on a spoofed PC Financial website. The scam, she said, cost her $233,000.

Barnes banks with TD and said she raised concerns at her branch because the money was being sent to a Bank of Montreal (BMO) account and not PC Financial, but the bank wired the funds anyway.

“It was a very uncomfortable situation. Yes, I was there doing it, but I feel the bank really could have done a whole lot more to prevent this from happening,” Barnes said.

In a statement to CTV News, a TD spokesperson said staff at branches are trained to ask “probing questions and warn of potential scams” any time customers make “a large transaction.”

“If a customer still chooses to proceed with the transaction, it would be completed based on their instructions,” the spokesperson said.

CTV News also spoke with another man from Kitchener, Ont. who lost $900,000 to the same scam.

PC Financial has a warning on its website about the GIC scam and told CTV News in a statement, “PC Financial does not promote or sell GICs in person, over the phone or through email.”

In Yamka’s case, his bank CIBC said it will ask questions but if a client authorizes a transaction, they will follow their instructions.

“This is a very unfortunate situation which highlights the importance of being suspicious when contacted by unknown parties and confirming details before authorizing a transaction. We work hard to protect our clients, including seniors, from fraud,” a spokesperson for CIBC previously told CTV News.

Duff Conacher, of Democracy Watch, has been an outspoken critic of the lack of oversight when it comes to bank customers being scammed.

“The banks have been completely negligent in setting up a banking system and not putting in the safeguards and procedures in place to prevent the fraudulent rip off of their customers,” Conacher said.

Conacher said he believes banks should refund a customer’s money if they don’t catch the scam.

“The Bank Act should be changed so that unless you can prove (the banks) did their full due diligence, they should then have to pay the customer back,” Conacher said.

According to the Canadian Banking Association, banks are updating their systems to stay ahead of fraud, but in many cases, scammers seem one step ahead.

Bank customers are advised to be vigilant moving money around and to assume something is a scam until they are sure that it isn’t.